For Jesse Brinkley it was the night of the underdog. He was picked by Curtis Stevens' camp as a fall guy, an easy night for Curtis to shine. And Curtis was certainly looking past his opponent. But oh, how the arrogant may fall!
Before the fight, Curtis Stevens (21-2) claimed that he would knock out Jesse in just the first round. And he tried. He tried but then he failed. Brinkley came to ESPN with unexpected resilience and heart, and he turned the tables big time against the favorite. It was Brinkley's hometown and he just wasn't going to give in. Curtis attacked Jesse early and by the end of the first round, Jesse's right eye was a swollen mess. But that may have been the only round that Curtis cleanly won. At the end of the round, both guys swung for the fences after the bell had rung, and Brinkley's trainer, Peter Manfredo Sr, rushed into the ring to seperate the fighters himself.
Jesse Brinkley weathered that early storm, stayed mentally strong, and turned it on late. After outboxing Stevens closely in rounds 2-5, Brinkley turned it on in the 6th round and put Curtis on the canvas. Flush right after flush right blasted through Stevens' defenses in a display that had the hometown crowd on their feet. Curtis survived the round but ate a lot more punishment in the 7th round. The eighth and ninth round were much closer, Stevens having gotten a second wind, perhaps winning those rounds.
Brinkley took the 10th with some inspired body shots, but Stevens was landing more left hands upstairs and Teddy Atlas was warning all the tv viewers that those big lefts hands might end it all for Brinkley if he wasn't careful.
But Jesse wasn't careful. He was way ahead on the scorecards. He landed more hard rights throughout the 11th round as the crowd screamed themselves into delirium. His corner told him to jab away the 12th round and cruise to a win. But this was Jesse's shining moment and he would not be denied a warrior's battle. On the other side of the square circle, Stevens was told he had to go for the KO. He came in taunt and fast, trying to get Brinkley off balance. He landed a few flush shots and some speedy combos. But Brinkley walked right through them, and against his own corner's advice, he waged epic warfare in the center of the ring against a knockout artist. Against the odds, as an underdog in his own town, Jesse Brinkley then scored a technical knockdown late in the 12th round when he battered Stevens back so that only the ropes kept him from falling. And for the next and final 50 seconds of the fight, Jesse Brinkley brought down the very hammer of Thor on Curtis Stevens, blasting his way to a much deserved unanimous decision; and now the honor of being ranked 2nd in the IBF Super-Middleweight ratings.
Before the 12th round Brinkley's cornerman told him "Canada here we come, baby!" With this big win tonight, January 29th, Jesse Brinkley may well be on his way to fighting for the IBF Super-Middleweight Title. He earned his shot in dramatic fashion. And if he turns it on like that when he fights for the belt, there might be a cartain guy named Lucian Bute who better carefully and bring his "A" game, or suffer the same fate.
By UPPERCUTTER
